Radical SR1 Cup race diary: what to do in season two?

The racing bug has bitten, although ahead of the last Radical SR1 Cup race of the season, Mark Tisshaw is actually mulling over his options for next year

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Yep, the racing bug has bitten me. The last two months since the previous Radical SR1 Cup round at Snetterton have felt like very long ones indeed, along with I’m itching to get going again.

Over which summer break I’ve been mulling a phrase you hear every currently again which ‘racing isn’t a real sport’. As much as I love playing cricket along with football, neither can quite match the intensity of being wheel to wheel with others at over 100mph along with with no margin for error. If you love the competitive nature of playing sport, you will love racing. This particular’s the hardest sport I’ve ever experienced, along with also the most addictive.

Soapbox dismounted, thankfully the season finale at a Brands Hatch basking in late summer sunshine is actually currently upon us, along with there’s a true end of term feel around the place.

There’s still a championship to be won (fingers crossed for my team mate Dave Morgan – team orders won’t be necessary as I don’t usually get near him within the races), although for those without a shot at winning This particular, like yours truly, attentions will already be turning on what to do next year.

So what do you do next after a season within the Radical SR1 Cup? This particular’s not an entry-level championship which will leave you high along with dry using a car you can’t use; you’re within the Radical ‘family’ currently.

If This particular is actually your first year within the SR1 Cup, you can do the championship again. Done your second year? You’ve several options. You can enter into the Radical Sprint Championship, a series predominantly featuring the bigger, faster, more powerful SR3s (along using a car which’s the next rung up the ladder should you wish to upgrade your SR1 for one), although also using a class for the SR1s. This particular allows you to head off racing at Radical Festival at Spa-Francorchamps, too.

Once you’re within the Sprint Championship, you can swap your control tyres through the SR1 Cup for a set of slicks. At This particular point, things truly get interesting. I should know; Radical let me have a go within the Sprint Championship back at Snetterton in July. Lucky me.

Well, I was supposed to try slicks, although initially the weather had additional ideas… With slicks though also comes the option of full which were needed for qualifying. Clearly This particular was easier to drive on full wets than the usual SR1 tyres which are used in both the wet along with dry, although still I was not quick enough along with qualified within the middle of my class.

Then the drama truly began. The torrential rain had given way to bright sunshine, along with within the time between leaving the paddock to heading to the assembly for race one the ongoing Formula 4 race had dried the circuit out. This particular meant a mad dash back the additional way for slicks.

This particular race was then initially I had ever driven on slicks. I’d been told which for the first couple of corners This particular’s like driving on ice as the tyres have no heat, although luckily there were two warm up laps This particular time around as we’d had no dry running, so the tyres were not bad to go.

Slicks are somewhat of a revelation: they allow you to brake later along with carry more corner speed, which is actually pretty much the holy grail of driving quickly. What’s more, they make the SR1 an even more grown up racing car; I’ve said This particular before, although This particular truly is actually about as quick a car you can get for a novice racer. Putting slicks on This particular also allows for progression, which is actually what Radical racing is actually all about; you start at the bottom, along with work your way up the ladder.

I ended up fourth in class within the race, which was followed up by another fourth when the heavens opened along with full wets were needed in race two. More on which one in part nine of the Radical SR1 Cup diary.

The Sprint Championship also features a third race at the end of a day to the two of the SR1 Cup, although This particular proved one too many for me within the changeable conditions; I’d got the set-up wrong when back on slicks along with struggled for rear grip along with downforce through the high-speed corners. Despite taking advantage of a chaotic start along with running as high as second in class, I was gradually picked off by three rivals, ending up fifth in class, with lap times which were barely an improvement on the SR1 control tyres.

I’m sounding like a proper racing driver there with excuses, although which’s the thing about racing: This particular gets under your skin. along with currently the chance has arrived at Brands to do something about This particular on the track. I’m sure This particular won’t be dull.